ENGLISH 24 INTRODUCTION EXERCISE

Take a look at the following examples of introductions. Based on what the writer has said in each introduction, answer the following two questions in the spaces provided onscreen:
  1. What is the writer's thesis statement?
  2. What information do you expect to find in the paragraphs that follow?

Please type the words "Thesis statement:" and "Information expected:" before your answers.

Please note that questions F and G ask you to choose two introductions and REWRITE the thesis statements for each.

TYPE ALL OF YOUR ANSWERS INTO THE SPACES PROVIDED ONSCREEN. WHEN YOU ARE FINISHED, CLICK THE BUTTON THAT SAYS "SUBMIT."

Don't forget to type your name and email address in the spaces provided at the top of the form.

Email address?
Name:

  1. We all obey authority from the first day that we are born; first it's our parents then Teachers, Police and etc... We listen and obey because it's easy to obey authority. But sometimes it is dangerous to follow orders that would harm other people. Can we see this? Can we stand by something like this? History shows us that most of the time people will take the easy way and follow orders either because they are scared or they think that somebody should decide for them as they started their life dependent on other human beings. Stanley Milgram was a psychologist who decided to study how far normal people will obey an order even if they know that they are harming other people. He believed that people would obey authority like history shows us. Milgram was interested in the reason for people's actions. Milgram's strong study and its conclusions are shocking. To be able to understand his theory and conclusion we have to take a look at his life, experience, and the factors that led him to this study.

  2. "One of the social issues dealt with in Ibsen's problem plays is the oppression of women by conventions limiting them to a domestic life. In Hedda Gabler the heroine struggles to satisfy her ambitious and independent intellect within the narrow role society allows her. Unable to be creative in the way she desires, Hedda's passions become destructive both to others and herself." (from http://web.uvic.ca/wguide/Pages/SampleEssaysLit.html)

  3. Our language is an important part of our identity as human beings. People understand each other by language. When a child says his first word, his parents feel glad because it means that child to be able to communicate with them. When we grow up, our language develops and improves. We can express our love, our happiness, our pain by words, by language. The creation and transmission of culture depends heavily on the human capacity to develop and use language. Equipped with language, humans can transmit their experiences, ideas, and knowledge to others. Children can be taught things without any actual experience of their part. Although it may take some time and repetition, children can be taught the dangers of fire and heights without being burned or toppling down the stairs. This principle of learning, of course, applies to other cultural patterns, such as exhibiting patriotism, consuming food, or staying awake in church. The interaction of language and culture in terms of the theory expressed by Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf states that only through language can culture be created.

  4. "Throughout history and through a cross-section of cultures, women have transformed their appearance to conform to a beauty ideal. Ancient Chinese aristocrats bound their feet as a show of femininity; American and European women in the 1800s cinched in their waists so tightly, some suffered internal damage; in some African cultures women continue to wear plates in their lower lips, continually stretching the skin to receive plates of larger size. The North American ideal of beauty has continually focussed on women's bodies: the tiny waist of the Victorian period, the boyish figure in vogue during the flapper era, and the voluptuous curves that were the measure of beauty between the 1930s and 1950s. Current standards emphasize a toned, slender look, one that exudes fitness, youth, and health. According to psychologist Eva Szekely, "Having to be attractive at this time . . . means unequivocally having to be thin. In North America today, thinness is a precondition for being perceived by others and oneself as healthy" (19). However, this relentless pursuit of thinness is not just an example of women trying to look their best, it is also a struggle for control, acceptance and success." (from http://web.uvic.ca/wguide/Pages/SampleEssaysExpos.html)

  5. Culture and language are two very close conceptions. They are interconnected and develop in dependence from each other. It means that cultural changes lead to the appearance of new words and new definitions of events. On the other hand, language innovations identify changes of culture of thought among different members of society, influence on their behavior. So language determines our culture and reflects reality.

  6. Choose ONE paragraph above and REWRITE the thesis statement for that paragraph.

  7. Choose ONE paragraph above and REWRITE the thesis statement for that paragraph.


Last updated on April 6, 2005